Helmut Marko is confident that the issue which saw both Red Bulls fail to finish the Bahrain Grand Prix has been resolved.

Just four laps from the end, Max Verstappen, who had been running second and suffering a steering issue since his third stop, was told he had a problem which was critical, the Dutchman subsequently dropping down the order and retiring.

Then, at the start of the final lap, teammate, Sergio Perez, who was running third, stopped with a similar issue, thereby giving Red Bull its first double-DNF since Austria 2020.

Though Red Bull has yet to reveal the exact cause of the retirements, it is widely speculated that it was fuel supply issue.

Talking to Germany's F1-Insider however, Helmut Marko is confident that the issue has been resolved ahead of this weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

"To put it simply, a vacuum in the fuel supply system caused the engine to run out of fuel," revealed the Austrian.

"I think the problem will be solved already for Saudi Arabia this weekend," he added.

"Without giving exact figures, there was still enough fuel in the tank of both cars," insisted the Austrian, following speculation that both cars could have run out of fuel having been deliberately under-fuelled.

"Basically, we were fast enough," he said of the season opener, which saw Ferrari's Charles Leclerc take pole, the win and post the fastest lap. "We were just not able to use our potential at the decisive moment.

"In Saudi Arabia we will be back at full speed and fight for victory."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by MossMan, 25/03/2022 11:11

"@TokyoAussie - Red Bull were the only top team not to do a full race distance in testing, IIRC. The issue seems to be that the system can't pump the last bit of fuel out due to a vacuum building in the tank during the race - it only manifests at the very end of running the car the full distance.

Just bad luck..."

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2. Posted by kenji, 25/03/2022 6:15

"i would expect that if fuel was in short supply and they ran dry then they would've been unable to supply the FIA with the mandatory 1 litre sample. That would be headline news with the 'anti RB' brigade levelling all manner of accusations. As for the 'vacuum' theory, well I guess that it's possible. All fuel tanks in F1 incorporate pressure relief valves and a malfunction could theoretically create a vacuum. IMO"

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3. Posted by Great_white_shark, 25/03/2022 3:32

"It's easy to tell if Marko is telling a lie: his lips are moving"

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4. Posted by TokyoAussie, 25/03/2022 3:26

"Wonder why a fuel issue was not discovered during testing."

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5. Posted by Endre, 24/03/2022 16:44

"There were three, reportedly unrelated issues on Max's RB. Brake over heating, steering issues due to bent wishbone and the above mentioned fuel system problem."

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6. Posted by Defiant, 24/03/2022 15:00

"@Roli, Although I definitely do not understand all of the ridiculously complicated systems of a RB F1 car, I thought the exact same thing. Sounds like more verbal diarrhoea from helMUT"

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7. Posted by KKK, 24/03/2022 14:51

"I dont really believe that that was the problem with Max. He said the steering was awry, not a power issue."

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8. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 24/03/2022 14:31

"Vacuum in system caused by no fuel in system."

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9. Posted by MossMan, 24/03/2022 13:37

"Sounds like they simply forgot a valve allowing air into the tank while the fuel is pumped out... surprising if true."

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Fuel supply issue resolved, says Marko

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